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Shell £1m funding to boost UK engineering skills

Nov 03, 2014

Shell has announced an investment of over £1 million in the Tomorrow’s Engineers programme, to help address the UK’s critical shortage of scientists and engineers.

A year ago tomorrow the Perkins Review of Engineering Skills called for urgent and co-ordinated action from employers to address this shortage, through Tomorrow’s Engineers. Shell’s three-year funding will enable the programme to expand into over 500 new schools across the UK, providing inspiration and advice about engineering to tens of thousands more students.

“When it comes to inspiring the next generation of great British scientists, engineers and innovators, we need to start in schools. Tomorrow’s Engineers connects classroom learning to the exciting opportunities that a technical career can offer. Only by engaging young people and their teachers in this way, will we encourage more students to progress in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects and careers.”

Despite huge efforts from the wider engineering industry, the UK still has a huge STEM skills shortage. A key problem is that outreach remains fragmented. Whilst some schools benefit from multiple activities, others receive none. Analysis by Boston Consulting Group shows that, simply by coordinating efforts on a regional basis, it’s possible to triple the number of young people reached and inspired to become tomorrow’s engineers.

Mr Bonino called on the wider engineering community to work together and pool resources to address the STEM skills shortage: “With the UK looking to grow the innovation economy and boost GDP, government, business and the engineering community are all committed to growing our numbers of scientists and engineers.

There is no shortage of activity underway, but it’s not joined up and doesn't make the impact it should. Unless we get smarter in working together, we will miss a vital opportunity to create a rich talent pool for the future. In our industry alone, this is critical if we are to meet the significant energy challenges of the future.”

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

“STEM skills are the lifeblood of this country’s high-tech industries, supporting growth and giving us the competitive edge. As a former employee of Shell, I know that the oil and gas industry offers good career prospects to any young engineer so I welcome their investment in the Tomorrow’s Engineers Campaign. Government is working with companies including Shell, as well as universities, colleges and schools to maintain the pipeline of future talent to keep British industry thriving.”

Paul Jackson, Chief Executive of EngineeringUK, said:

“Our overarching aim is to ensure that every 11-14 year old has at least one employer-linked engineering experience to help them make the connection between classroom learning and career opportunities. Shell’s support for Tomorrow’s Engineers takes us considerably closer to that ambition. Last year, the Tomorrow’s Engineers programme directly reached over 50,000 students in 1,200 schools.

We hope other engineering companies will follow Shell’s lead in supporting Tomorrow’s Engineers. We call on engineering employers of every size and sector across the UK not only to give schools access to high-quality careers information and resources but to open their doors to show young people just how exciting a career as a 21st Century engineer can be.”

With the STEM skills shortage felt keenly across the gender divide, the Shell Tomorrow’s Engineers programme will place significant emphasis on driving up the number of girls who choose to pursue STEM subjects and careers. Already, research shows that girls who have participated in the Tomorrow’s Engineers programme are 50 per cent more likely to cite engineering as a desirable career choice.

Other businesses, both large and small, who want to support STEM activities in schools, can get involved with Tomorrow’s Engineers in a number of ways:

By committing funding to enable Tomorrow’s Engineers to reach more students, in more schools across the UK.

By sharing information on the schools that they already work with, businesses can contribute to the national STEM outreach database maintained by Tomorrow’s Engineers. This can help businesses identify where their support is most needed.

By encouraging company volunteers, or ‘STEM Ambassadors’, who can be teamed up with local schools through the Tomorrow’s Engineers programme.

Using the Tomorrow’s Engineers toolkit helps businesses to set up school activities and workshops efficiently. The toolkit includes inspirational resources about engineering careers, providing schools with an even richer experience.

ENQUIRIES:

Shell International Media Relations +44 (0) 20 7934 5550

Notes to Editors:

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this announcement "Shell", "Shell Group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them.

These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. "Subsidiaries", "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this announcement refer to companies in which Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as "associated companies" or "associates" and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as "jointly controlled entities".

In this announcement, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as "equity-accounted investments". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This announcement contains forward looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell and the Shell Group. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements.

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There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and the Shell Group and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward looking statements included in this announcement, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition;

(g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and

(m) changes in trading conditions. All forward looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell's 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2013 (available at www.shell.com/investor - opens on Shell.com and www.sec.gov ).

These factors also should be considered by the reader. Each forward looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, November 3, 2014. Neither Shell nor any of its subsidiaries nor the Shell Group undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward looking statements contained in this announcement.